baked goods – Page 10 – Trust in Kim: an ad-free recipe blog!

Lemon Sables – French Sugar Cookies

Mmm, these pretty little lemony cookies have a nice crispy bite to them, almost like a shortbread. I usually look for cookie recipes that have some chocolate in them, but this is a nice fresh change from my usual, and they go great with a cup of tea. I made them for a dessert to bring to a friend’s place, and they were a hit. They are small enough to have just a little sweet bite after dinner, but those who wanted more sweet bites could have a few.

I got this recipe from Clotilde Dusoulier’s fabulous Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook.

What you need:

1 lemon

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon fleur de sel or kosher salt

7 tablespoons/ 3.5 ounces cold unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg yolk

1 cup icing sugar

What you do:

1. Zest about one tablespoon of lemon peel, making sure to only use the yellow skin, not the bitter white part underneath.

2. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar, then stir in the flour and salt.

3. Add the butter and mix it into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or cool hands (if your hands are too hot they will melt the butter) until it looks like very coarse sand. Add the egg yolk and stir with a fork until combined, and then knead the dough until it comes together. If you need to, you can add a little ice-cold water, one teaspoons at a time to help bring it together.

4. Divide the dough into two parts, then form it into logs about 3-4 cm in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1/2 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take one of the logs out of the freezer and slice about 1cm thick using a very sharp serrated knife.

6. Place the disks on the baking sheet, leaving a few centimeters’ space between them. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. You can bake both logs, or save one for baking fresh another time. While these cookies do keep for a few days, they are best on days one and two.

7. Once the cookies are completely cool you can make the glaze by squeezing the lemons to get 3 tablespoons of juice. Add the juice to a bowl with the icing sugar and whisk it until there are no lumps. Glaze the cookies using a pastry brush or a teaspoon. Let the glaze dry completely before serving. Make sure to store them in an airtight container.

Pecan Biscotti with Dark and White Chocolate

These are a variation on my favourite biscotti and another crowd-pleaser. I brought them to work the other day, and a lot of my colleagues asked for the recipe, so I take that as a sign that they were delicious.

They are lovely dipped in some coffee, but these turn out with just the right bite to them, so you can easily eat them without softening them up first.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups + 2 tablespoons white flour

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup pecans, lightly toasted

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

What to do:

1. Toast the pecans in a frying pan until very lightly browned and allow to cool. They are easy to burn, so watch carefully – I usually keep them on low while I start making the cookie dough.

2. Cream the butter, then beat in the sugar, then eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.

3. Combine dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. Add chocolate and nuts and stir until just combined.

4. Divide the dough into two pieces. With floured hands form into two logs on a baking sheet, flattening the logs out a bit. Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes.

5. Slice the baked rolls diagonally and place on a baking sheet. Lower the oven to 300F and bake for 10-15 minutes, until slightly browned. Turn over and bake for another 10-15, until that side is also slightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

These can keep for a few weeks in an airtight container, but I like to freeze some to keep them really fresh. They don’t usually keep very long, and I find that they make a great gift.

Aspargus, Mushroom and Red Onion Pizza

I was lucky enough to be able to make this pizza in a brick oven that my Opa built decades ago. I made a few pizzas using this crust and sauce recipe. It’s a fabulous recipe, and the topping options are endless. Here’s a vegetarian one that was particularly delicious.

What you need:

asparagus

mushrooms sliced

red onions, thinly sliced

mozzarella cheese, grated

pizza crust (see link above, use your own recipe, or buy some pizza dough if you can find it in the freezer section)

pizza sauce (see link above)

What you do:

1. Assuming you’ve already prepared your pizza dough and sauce, preheat your oven to 500-550F. If you are using a brick oven you’ll need to start preparing it hours earlier.

2. Form your dough and place it on a well-floured baking pan. Spread some tomato sauce over the crust.

3. Scatter the mushrooms and red onions, then place the asparagus on top. Add some cheese and it’s ready to go into the oven – just don’t add too many toppings or you’ll have a soggy pizza.

4. Bake for 6-7 minutes – the cheese should be bubbling, and the crust should be crisp and golden.

Enjoy!

Brick Oven Pizza – Olive and Chorizo

This beautiful pizza was baked in the brick oven that my Opa built decades ago at the family cabin that he loved so much. It’s not a fancy place, and this oven is small, but it holds a lot of memories. I spent many summers playing hide-and-seek in the woods and cards inside in the evening, fishing, and eating what we caught alongside Oma’s amazing bread. We never made pizza in the brick oven; that’s a tradition I started a few years ago when I visited the cabin with friends. My grandparents are gone now, and my summer friends and I are all grown up and most of them have stopped going to the lake. As far as I know nobody else uses the old brick oven, but baking in it makes me think about my grandparents and all the good times we spent in this place.

This is the best pizza I’ve ever made. The crust takes a bit of planning ahead, but the sauce and toppings are easy. I found the recipe for the crust and sauce in A16 Food and Wine by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren.

This recipe makes enough for about 4 medium-sized pizzas with a thin crust. I made a variety of toppings for mine.

What you need for the crust:

1/4 teaspoon yeast

1 & 1/2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

4 cups “oo” flour or all-purpose (I used all-purpose)

What you need for the tomato sauce and toppings:

one 28-ounce can of tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them)

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 link of cured chorizo sausage

small black olives

1/2 teaspoon anise seeds, bashed up a little with a mortar and pestle

about 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

What you do:

1. Begin preparing the dough a day before you want to make the pizza. You can do this by hand, but it’s just a bit more work. Pour the water into a mixer with a dough hook and then sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it for about 10 minutes and it should become foamy – if it doesn’t your water was the wrong temperature, or the yeast is dead. Stir in the olive oil and salt. Add the flour and mix on low for 2 minutes. Knead on medium-low for about 10 minutes – it will pull away from the bowl and begin to look smoother. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. Knead once more on medium-low for 10 minutes – it will be smooth and quite soft. If it seems much too sticky you can add a little more flour. Coat a bowl with a little olive oil and then coat both sides of the dough with olive oil, placing the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night.

2. In the morning remove the dough from the fridge and punch it down. Fold the sides of the dough under and put it back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it sit in a warm (not hot) place until about 2 hours before you need it.

3. Punch the dough down and divide it into 4 pieces. Form them into balls and cover them with a damp towel for about 2 hours. By this time the dough should have doubled in volume. If it starts to get a skin on it you can spray it with a little water.

4. To prepare the sauce, just put the tomatoes and juice into a bowl and squish them into little bits with your hands. Add the salt.

5. Cut the chorizo into thin slices and fry them briefly. I like to do this to get a bit of the fat out, but it isn’t a necessary step. Put the cut chorizo onto a paper towel to soak up excess fat.

6. Preheat the oven to 500-550 F.

7. To form the crusts, shape the dough into a disk with your hands. Push down in the centre with your palm and pull the dough out gently with your other hand, rotating slightly until you have a crust that is about 10-12 inches/25-30 cm in diameter with a slightly raised edge. (I cheated a little in the beginning and used a rolling-pin.) Dust your baking pan generously and place the crust on it. I don’t have a proper pizza stone or pan, but the cookie sheet I used worked just fine.

8. Spread some tomato sauce onto the crust, then sprinkle with the anise seeds. Add some chorizo and olives, then toss on a little cheese. Avoid over-topping your pizza, as it will end up soggy.

9. Bake for 6-7 minutes, until the crust is crisp and golden, and the top is bubbling. I made and baked the pizzas one at a time because the brick oven only fits one pan. This was a great way to do it, as it allowed us to sample each pizza as it came out of the oven, then tend to the next one.

Wait just a minute before eating so you don’t burn your mouth, then dig in!

Chorizo Pistachio Savoury Cake

This is a repeat recipe from a few summers ago. I’ve never repeated a recipe posting before, but I chose to share this again because:

A) It’s a great picnic food that you and your friends will adore

B) It’s super easy to make

C) I just made it and looked so delicious that I was inspired to share it

D) I have a new camera and would like to have a better image that fits the amazing quality of this recipe

What you need:

room temperature butter for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for the bottom of the pan

1 & 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

3 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup plain yogurt

85 grams or so of cured chorizo sausage, preferably one with a bit of spice to it

8 sun-dried tomato halves, finely diced

3/4 cup unsalted pistachios

1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)-you could substitute some onion or basil

What you do:

1. Spread the butter into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch loaf pan. Toss the sesame seeds around in the pan until there is a layer of them over the bottom and sides. Preheat your oven to 350F.

2. Mix the egg and yogurt together in a bowl. Add flour, baking powder, salt and chili powder and stir it in, being careful to mix only until just incorporated.

3. Fold in the chorizo, tomatoes, nuts and parsley. Spread the batter into the loaf pan.

4. Bake for 40-50 minutes and test with a toothpick to see if it is done. Let the loaf sit in the pan for about 15 minutes after you’ve taken it out of the oven before removing it to cool on a rack.

When it’s cool you can cut it into thin slices to serve. Apparently it keeps for a few days on the counter, but if I have leftovers I prefer to wrap them in plastic wrap and either store in the fridge, or freeze for later use. It tastes best at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge with enough time in advance of eating to allow it to some to room temperature.

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz’s website, and he adapted it from Clotilde Dusoulier’s Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook.

Oma’s Mennonite Bread

As I was planning a trip up to the family cabin at Mahood Lake I knew I had to make my Mennonite Oma’s Russian bread. I love taking the opportunity to bake in that oven when I go up to the lake, because it’s the only place where I have access to one. and it is so much fun. I usually just make pizza in there, but this time I wanted to branch out a little, so I thought of my Oma’s awesome dark-crusted bread. My Oma was born in the Ukraine where they made this type of bread, and then she lived in Paraguay for 15 years where she also baked it in an outdoor oven. In the early 1980’s my Opa built this great brick oven, in the style of the Paraguayan Mennonite ovens. My Oma always made this great bread – it was dark brown, almost black on the outside, with a thick crust, and tender inside. Now, I’ve got the recipe, and I made a delicious loaf of bread, although I fully admit that it is nothing like my Oma’s bread. I asked her in the past how she got that great crust on it, and she told me she just put all the ingredients together – so she had a magic touch that I can’t figure out. Oma passed away a few weeks ago, so her secret it gone too.

You don’t need the brick oven to make this bread, it’ll work fine in a conventional oven. I used a machine with a dough hook, but you could do it by hand if you’re feeling energetic. This recipe makes 3-4 loaves.

If you’re using a brick oven you need to get a really good fire going so it’s smoking hot in there. I pushed some of the coals to the back of the oven so it would retain heat for a full hour.

What you need:

1 medium-sized potato, scrubbed

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon yeast

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup rye flour

1 cup bran

6 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately)

What you do:

1. Boil the potato in about 3 cups of water until it is soft. Place the potato, saving the liquid, in a 2 cup measuring cup. Smash the potato up with the back of a fork, then add enough of the potato water to fill the measuring cup to 2 cups. Allow this to come to room temperature.

2. In a large mixer bowl add about 2 tablespoons of warm water and sprinkle the yeast top. Wait until the yeast begins to bubble and is all dissolved (if it doesn’t your yeast may be dead).

3. Add the potato water and buttermilk to the yeast mixture. With the machine running and using a dough hook, gradually add the flours, bran and salt. Mix until you have a moist dough, using more or less flour to get this consistency. Keep mixing until the dough begins to form a bit of a ball.

4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it with a clean damp tea towel. Let it rise to about double in volume; this will take about 1- 2 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.

5. Punch the dough down, then turn it out onto a floured surface. Give it a few kneads, then cut into 3-4 equal pieces. Form a loaf with the seam in the bottom and place in loaf pans. Cover with the damp tea towel and let it rise, again to about double, which should take slightly less time than the first.

6. Heat the oven to 400F. When the loaves have doubled in size, and they hold an indentation when you poke the dough lightly, they are ready to go in the oven. If you want to get more of a crust on your bread, you can spray the inside of the oven with water just before the bread goes in. Just try not to spray the light bulb, as it might shatter. Place the bread in the oven and bake for about 1 hour.

7. You will know the loaves are ready when you tap on the bottom of the pan and it sounds hollow, so keep an eye on it in the last 10 minutes or so of baking to see if it’s looking done, and test it using this method.

8. Remove the bread from the pans and let it cool on wire racks. Once it is mostly cool you can slice it up and then slather on some butter, but we just broke of satisfying chunks and ate some with butter, and on some we added apricot jam. Not quite like Oma made it, but delicious nonetheless.

Mom’s Rhubarb-Apricot Platz

This is a recipe I grew up eating: my Mennonite Mom’s platz. It is a thin coffee cake with fruit and streusel on top. Sometimes on the second day the cake layer would get a bit dried out, but I didn’t mind too much because the fruit and streusel were so yummy. For this recipe I used a combination of rhubarb and apricots, but plums are another favourite.

Even though the photos show a thick round cake, I grew up with it baked thinly in rectangular form, which was cut into squares.

What you need for the cake:

1/2 cup butter (the original recipe called for crisco or margarine)

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

about 1/2 cup milk

2-3 cups chopped fruit of your choice

What you need for the streusel:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

pinch salt

splash of vanilla

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 35oF.

2. To make the cake, cream the 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar well.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Crack the egg into a measuring cup and mix it up a little with a fork. Add enough milk to the measuring cup so it reaches the 2/3 cup mark.

5. Mix in some of the liquid and alternate with the dry ingredients. Spread this mixture in the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan.

6. Spread the fruit on top of the batter.

7. To make the streusel topping just combine all the ingredients; my mom says to do it with a whisk, but I just used a fork and then mixed it with my hands, and then sprinkled it on the cake with my hands.

8. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Apricot Almond Cake

A big bowl of apricots was sitting in my kitchen ripening, and it was crying out to be made into a cake. I searched around quite a bit fora recipe that looked more interesting than the usual, and found this gorgeous one on hungryrabbitnyc.com. What I love so much about this recipe is the addition of ground almonds and almond extract in the cake, and the use of rum and apricot jam to bring out the flavour in the apricots. It tasted amazing when it was still slightly warm, and surprisingly good the next day. I can imagine it would also be really good with plums or nectarines on the top instead of apricots.

What you need:

2 tablespoons apricot preserve

3 tablespoons dark rum

1 pound apricots, halved and pitted

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup ground almonds

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons/3 ounces unsalted butter , cut into 6 pieces, slightly softened

1 large egg , room temperature

1 large egg yolk , room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

icing sugar for serving (optional – I forgot to sprinkle it on)

What you do:

1. Heat the apricot preserve and the rum in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the apricots, cut side down, and cook without touching them for 5-7 minutes, or until they begin to release their juices. Put these aside while you prepare the cake batter.

2. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by greasing and flouring it. Heat the oven to 350F, with the rack in the middle of the oven.

3. Combine the sugar, ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. (I did this by hand because I was at a cabin without all the gadgets, and it worked fine that way.) Add the butter and combine until it is the texture of coarse sand. Add the egg and extra yolk, along with the vanilla and almond extracts, and mix just until combined.

4. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to even out the surface. Carefully stir the apricot mixture to coat the fruit with the rum glaze, then arrange the fruit on top of the batter. In the original recipe it looks like they are arranged cut side up, but I put mine on cut side down because I wanted to show off the bit or redness in the apricot skins.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs attached but is not doughy. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake, then allow it to sit for half and hour before releasing it from the pan.

Sprinkle the icing sugar on top if you wish, then serve delicious wedges of cake.

Fudgey Oat Bars

Over 20 years ago a friend’s mom made these awesome oat fudge bars, and she gave me the recipe. They were called Mrs. Larson’s bars, and they were awesome! This mom wasn’t named Mrs. Larson, and I have no idea who she is, but I love her bars.

I hadn’t made these for many years, and I wanted to bring a treat to work the other day, so I pulled out the recipe. Having tried an chocolate oat fudge bar at Starbucks, I was curious about how similar their recipe was. I found a few recipes for imitation Starbucks Oat Fudge bars, and they all seem really close or exactly like this one. People at work all said these were better than Starbucks’ – but then homemade usually is, isn’t it? Because you know someone cared enough to take the time to bake for you.

Lots of people at work asked for the recipe, so here it is! I changed the name from Oar Fudge Bars to Fudgey Oat bars, because let’s face it, we’re all here for the chocolate.

What you need for the base:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups rolled oats
What you need for the chocolate:

12 ounces/340 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

What you do to make the base:

1. Prepare a 9 x 13 inch pan or two 8-inch pans by spreading a little butter in them.

2. Cream the butter and sugar well, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in the flour, baking soda and salt, then mix in the oats. Add about 2/3 of the batter to the pan, reserving the rest for the top.

What you do to make the chocolate filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Put all the ingredients in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl on top of a pot of water on the stove. Let it melt, then pour it on top of the base.

3. Add the rest of the base to the top of the chocolate mixture – I do this using my hands, to make sure none of the pieces are too big.

4. Pop it in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, when the top is getting a little browned.

Let it cool, then slice away! Yum!

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake – Gluten Free!

A little while ago I made this delicious cake, and then the other day my mom said she had made a new cake recipe I had to try – and it happened to be this one. Mine was the almond-meal version, and my mom made the wheat flour version, and both were amazing. I made it for a dinner party, topped with brandied cherries and whipping cream, and she served it on its own, which was great too.

People loved that it was light and not too sweet, but still nice and chocolatey. And if it helps, you can remember that olive oil is healthy fat. Plus, if it makes you happy, it’s doing something good for you. Just try to share it.

Thank you Nigella Lawson for the recipe!

What you need:

5 tablespoons boiling water

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 & 1/2 cups almond meal (or 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2/3 cup olive oil

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper. (My mom made hers in a square dish with no parchment paper and cut it out brownie-style, so that works too.)

2. In a small bowl pour the boiling water over the cocoa and mix; then add the vanilla.

3. Combine the sugar, eggs and olive oil in a large bowl. Beat on high speed until the batter is fluffy and a light yellow colour. Beat in the cocoa mixture.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt and add them to the batter, beating just until combined. Pour the batter into the pan.

5. Bake for about 50 minutes, at which time a toothpick that you insert into the centre of the cake should come out clean.

6. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and release the cake from the springform. Place on a rack to cool completely, removing the parchment paper before serving.

I served mine with cherries and whipping cream.

For the cherries and cream:

1 cup morello cherries in juice, not pre-thickened (I used Trader Joe’s).

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup brandy

pinch of salt

a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice

125mL whipping cream

1 tablespoon-ish icing sugar

a splash of vanilla

What you do:

1. Heat the cherries (just use the cherries, not the juice), butter, brown sugar and brandy in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes, until slightly thickened. Then add the salt and lemon juice. Let this cool.

2. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla.

3. Just before serving top the cake with cherries, add the whipping cream on top, and then serve it up. Like mine, it’s likely to be gone before you know it!

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